Late again!

Hi everyone! I am delinquent again as it has been nearly a month since my last post. It has been a busy time with the start of the new year and all. Walt Disney World was busting at the seams over the Holidays! We hit all sorts of new records and still showed our guest a great time. I was still pretty sick through most of December but now am doing much better as i haven't had Chemo or radiation since before Christmas. Yesterday did bring a liver biopsy which was okay (it did hurt some afterward). Now we wait to hear the results from that and move forward on a couple other scans as prep for entering the clinical trial. Stay tuned for more information there as I get it. And yes I promise a post soon with the results and resulting treatment plans. In the meantime 10 days ago while on my way to church on a Sunday morning I was in an accident with a semi-tractor trailer. As you might imagine the mini cooper I was driving lost the battle. However here is the miracle, I was not injured in the least. The accident happened very slowly and so I had no impact against seat belts or airbags. It was pretty scary but I was in the palm of the Lord's hand and He kept me safe and sound. Wow and Praise Jesus! Since then we have been dealing with insurance companies and rental cars and replacing the mini. This past Monday we were able to get a new Mini Cooper for me to drive and it is very nice! I expect to enjoy driving it as much as the last one. Other than that Michael and I have been fishing over around Anclote Key quite a bit an enjoying the boat. The garden is producing lots of collard greens and the dogs are just as lazy as always. All is well here and I hope the same can be said for each of you. Love Wendy

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Good Saturday Morning everyone, Hoping that your Christmas was lovely and shared with those you love. Michael and I were at my sister Molly's house in the morning for gift exchange with her family, my brother RAM and his family and Dad and Arra Mae. we had also been to Michael's mother's house on the way to Windermere. It was a fun time with all the family. And for those of you not in central Florida this week the weather was fabulous! I had chemo on Monday and finished radiation on Wednesday. Unfortunately that meant on Christmas I was dealing with some side effects. So we didn't stay for dinner at Dad's. Still it was a good day with family and that is what is important. I am doing much better over the last two days. Hoping to be able to go fishing tomorrow with Michael and get to use my new pole and spinning reel. Hope the New Year brings you each much joy and happiness! Love to all, Wendy

Quick update

just wanted to let you all know that the radiation treatments are going fine. I have had 6 of 15 fractions so far and there is definitely an improvement in the numbness in my arm. Yeah! I am getting treatment from a machine labeled OBI which feels very Star Wars, get it like Obiwan Kenobi! Haha! MTFBWY! Wendy

Overdue again!

hi all, Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We were in the mountains of North Carolina with a big chunk of the family at Dad's ranch.it was a great time including snow on Thanksgiving. Some of the crew had their first experience with the cold stuff. It was so fun to see teens playing and throwing snow balls! Michael hiked the hill behind the house with dogs in tow, while I stayed indoors mostly cooking for the crew. But I could be sure of staying warm! One of our furry kids, Maggie had her first encounter with a skunk the first night we got there. Thankfully the barn is rigged with warm water in the wash stall! Health update: I have had some new rumors show up on my spine above the previous ones. The location is actually good as it means that they can be treated with radiation which resolves them much quicker. If you will pray that the treatments focus just on the rumors and that all the other tissues around them are protected. I have absolute confidence in the folks here at UF Health Cancer Center but appreciate the Lord's healing hand on this even more. Clarifying that would be tumors not rumors on my spine! Ha ha! Anyway all my love to you and hope you have an anticipatory Advent Season followed by a Joyful Cheistmas! Wendy

Fall is Here!

Hi friends, Well the calendar saw the arrival of Fall a few days ago but today we are having a front come through with cool temperatures and lots of wind. So it really feels like Fall. A nice welcome to November, which includes one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for that probably we should celebrate this every month (maybe without all the food!) This year Thanksgiving will find Michael and me at the ranch in North Carolina with most of our family. That is always a great time and when we can get together for a whole week it is really special. Last week we got the start of the winter garden planted so we should be harvesting collards in about a month. Yummy! There are also beets, carrots and onions and I am planning on adding a heirloom vegetable called salsify. It is a root like a carrot, white in color and supposedly takes like oysters. We will give it a try. The seeds came from my neighbor Beverly who remembers it from her childhood. In another week I will add more carrots, beets and onions in order to stagger the harvest some. I hope that this message finds each of you well and happy. Love you, Wendy

Another easy saturday morning

Hi there everyone, Saturday mornings are certainly one of the blessings in life. We had a nice breakfast and just puttering around doing light chores (well that is I am, Michael has been slaving away roto-tilling the garden!). I had treatment this past Thursday and Friday so that is my excuse. However it doesn't hold water right now as I feel pretty darned good! Yesterday I also had the privilege to share my cancer journey stories with a class of nursing students at Orlando Tech. My dear friend Nancy Welch is their instructor and invited me to talk with her class as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. What a great group of students! They had lots of questions and were very engaged and interested. That is really all the news today. Hope this finds all of you healthy and happy. One shout out to Vicki Owens. We had a computer crash and for some reason I no longer have your e-mail address Vicki. Please contact me at wendy_may@gate.net so that we don't lose touch. Love to you all, Wendy

Still getting into the swing of routine!

Good morning friends, I am still settling back into routine work etc. it was a quiet week which is always good following treatment. I certainly am no ball of fire. Yesterday I had a PET scan and the result was good in that it showed no new activity. I was hoping to see some improvement in the soft tissue mets but the scan showed that they are stable, meaning that they have not changed since the last scan. That is good and a sign that the treatments are working so we stay the course and continue the chemotherapy I am on through the end of the year and then check again. Today I am going back to the last two vacation posts and adding more photos so check them out if you like. May God bless and keep each of you, Wendy